Lactose-free Fettuccine Alfredo

I love Fettuccine sauce. I love butter and cheese. Both my digestive track and my diet do not love these things. So when I found a recipe for Fettuccine Alfredo that had no dairy, I was pretty eager to give it a shot. I was a bit suspicious about the ingredient list and the final product was... a disconcerting color. It was green. Yellow-green, actually, like split-pea soup. I hesitantly ate it and it was actually pretty decent. It tasted nothing like Alfredo sauce, but it was still a tasty, creamy sauce for my pasta with a good mouthfeel and a savoury side.

Mats:
8 oz pasta. Fettuccine is traditional, but any long, flat pasta will work. Or gnocchi.
2 Tb olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tb flour
1 1/2c plain soy milk
1/4c white wine
1tsp yellow miso. My store didn't have any, so I substituted 1/2 tsp sugar.
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tb nutritional yeast
Optional tasty stuff: 8 oz Portobello  mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into 1/2 inch thick strips. 8 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch thick strips.

In a medium pot, cook the pasta according to directions. Drain and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine soy milk, white wine, miso, nutmeg, tumeric, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
In a small pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Finely dice the garlic and add to the pot, stirring constantly. Cook for 30 seconds or until the garlic begins to sizzle.
Add the flour to the garlic-oil and whisk constantly. (This is a Roux!) Cook for 2 minutes while whisking about. The flour should start to turn a light brown.
Turn the heat down to the absolute minimum
Add half the soy milk mixture to the roux, and keep on whisking.
Whisk until there are no more lumps, then add the rest of the soy milk mixture. Keep whisking.
Add the nutritional yeast. It's what makes the sauce vaguely cheesy. Whisk!
Once there are no more lumps, set the sauce aside.
If you're adding optional tasty stuff, heat about 2 Tb olive oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add the optional tasty stuff and saute. Chicken will take about 7 minutes to cook, mushrooms will only take about 4.
Combine pasta, sauce and optional tasty stuff in a serving bowl and enjoy.

Sauce notes: Mine turned out a bit on the runny side, so I added a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken it up. And then I whisked some more. Also, solids tend to accumulate at the bottom of the pot, so when you're pouring it out, make sure you stir it really well, and scrape all the solids into the serving dish.

Interesting side note: Apparently tumeric is a pH indicatior - it turns yellow in acidic solutions and bright red in basic ones.

Chorizo and Potatoes

This makes a thick, chunky stew, great for filling burrito shells or just eating plain. DON'T skip the step where you drain the potatoes; they won't fry up right if they're a soggy hash.

Mats:
6 oz chorizo sausage, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
4 boiling potatoes (red ones generally are the best), peeled and grated
3 15-oz cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chili powder
1 avocado, sliced
1/2c crumbled feta cheese

In a large pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced chorizo, diced onion, 2 of the minced garlic cloves and cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the grated potatoes. Use a colander and press the potatoes repeatedly. Pick up a (small) handful and squeeze it between your hands, trying to get every drop of moisture you can out of the potatoes.
Then add the potatoes to the chorizo mixture and cook 10 minutes, stirring often. The potatoes should begin to brown.
Add the canned tomatoes and stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the oregano, sugar, chili powder and the other 2 cloves of minced garlic.
Cover, turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes or until sauce is very thick. Stir occasionally, making sure things don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

If you're serving in tortillas, heat the wraps first so they're nice and supple. Top with sliced avocado and some crumbled feta cheese.

Mu Shu Wraps

A nice stir-fry served with tortilla or mu-shu wraps, instead of rice. I first made this with thin-slice hickory smoked tofu, but I didn't like it very much, so I'm leaving it out from here on.

Mats:
2 eggs
2 Tb oil
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms (5 large)
4c baby bok choy
1c carrots
3 green onions
2 cloves garlic
1 Tb rice wine vinegar
1 Tb soy sauce
tortillas, or mu-shu wraps
Hoisin sauce

Heat a large pan or wok. over high heat. Spray the bottom with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small dish, scramble the eggs. Pour into the hot wok and swirl around, coating the bottom of the pan in as thin a layer of egg as possible. Cook for 2 minutes.
Loosen the egg pancake from the pan with a spatula and flip. Cook another 1 minute
Slide the egg out onto a cutting board and slice into thin ribbons - 1/4 inch thick and 2 or 3 inches long.
Slice the mushrooms into thin strips, 1/4 inch thick
Slice the bok choy into bite sized ribbons, cut the carrots into thin strips (matchstick size), chop the green onions into 1/4 inch rounds.
In the wok, heat 2 Tb oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often for 6 minutes.
Add the sliced bok choy, carrots and onion, stir fry on high for 3 minutes or until they bok choy starts to wilt.
Add the eggs and stir until well mixed
Add the vinegar and soy sauce and toss until everything is coated. Remove from heat
In a separate pan, warm the tortillas or mu-shu wraps so they don't crack when bent.
Spoon the stir fry into the tortillas, add Hoisin sauce as a garnish.

Summer Tomato Salad

This one is good for summer picnics - the dressing is effectively a vinaigrette, which travels well and doesn't spoil in the heat, like cream or mayonnaise based dressings. Try to pick up some different varieties of tomatoes if you can, grape tomatoes are all well and good, but if you can find Campari or yellow 'Summer poppers' (as my mum calls them), your salad will be prettier and taste delicious.

Mats:
1/4c lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tb lime zest
1 tsp ground cumin
5c tomatoes (cut into bite-sized pieces)
15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2c fresh basil
9 oz farfalle (bowtie) pasta
1 1/4c corn kernels

Combine lime juice, olive oil, lime zest  and cumin in a large bowl.
Add tomatoes, chickpeas and basil, then toss so all the pieces are coated with dressing
Cook pasta 8 minutes or until 'al dente'. Add the corn to the water 2 minutes before the end of cooking time.
Drain, toss with the tomato mixture.


I like to chill the salad in the fridge and serve it cold, but room temperature is fine too. And yummy.

Mexicali Chop

This one gets listed in three parts - it's a salad with lots of parts.

Tortilla strips:
Mats:
1tsp oil
3 6-inch tortillas
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.
Brush oil on tortillas, then slice into 1/4 inch thick strips.
Spread strips onto a baking sheet
Mix the spices together, then sprinkle them on the strips
Bake 15 minutes or until crunchy

Dressing
Mats:
2/3c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3c lime juice
1/4c chopped green onion
1/4c fresh cilantro

Heat oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, sugar and salt in a saucepan for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the garlic begins to sizzle.
Move oil mixture to a food processor/blender.
Add the rest of the Dressing ingredients and blend on low for 2 minutes

Salad
Mats:
1 head red leaf lettuce, washed and torn into bite-sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, chopped to 1/2 inch
1 avocado, peeled and diced to 1/2 inch
3 celery stalks, sliced to 1/4 inch
1 cucumber, diced to 1/4 inch
1 cup corn kernels (thawed if you're using frozen ones)
1 can pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 jarred, roasted red pepper, sliced to 1/4 inch
1/3 cup red onion, chopped to 1/4 inch

Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl with dressing. Top with the tortilla strips and serve.

Corn and Quinoa Salad

Quite light and an interesting, tart flavor. Use real maple syrup if you can get your hands on it. Most pancake syrup for sale is just colored corn syrup, which tastes vastly different from the good stuff. You can use either fresh corn on the cob or frozen corn kernels. If the corn is very fresh, you can skip the blanching and just use raw corn instead.

Mats:
1c quinoa (Red if you can get it)
1c red cabbage, sliced very thin
1c cucumber
1 1/2 c grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 1/2c corn
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c lemon juice
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

In a small pot, combine the quinoa with 1 1/2c water and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. When time's up, remove the cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
Bring a small pot of water to boil. Add the corn kernels and cook for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse with very cold water.
In a large-ish bowl, mix the corn, tomatoes, cucumber, cabbage and cooked quinoa together.
In a small bowl (or a blender/food processor), combine the oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and 1 tsp salt. Whisk well (or process for 1 minute).
Pour the dressing on the quinoa mixture and chill in the fridge. Serve cold.

Jazzed up Ramen

Ah ramen - the super-cheap staple of life. This recipe takes a product about as exciting as cardboard and makes it a decent, easy meal. It doesn't matter what 'flavor' ramen you choose, you'll be ditching the seasoning. Have you looked at the ingredients in those packets? It's mostly palm oil, salt and MSG. Even in my most desperately hungry college days, I never could put the whole pack in my cup'o'ramen.

Mats:
1 pack ramen noodles, seasoning packet discarded.
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into very thin ribbons, 1/4 of an inch thick or less
1/2 c broccoli, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 clove garlic, finely diced
1/2 c onion
4tsp soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 Tb unsalted nut of choice - almonds, cashews and peanuts work equally well.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Turn the heat off, add the block of ramen to the pot and let it sit for 2 minutes. Drain and set noodles aside.
In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar with 1/2c water.
In a medium sauce pan, heat 2 tsp oil on high. Add the onion and garlic, stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the pepper and broccoli, stir fry for another minute.
Add the soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat.
Add the ramen noodles and mix thoroughly.
Top with your nut of choice